Results 2,981-3,000 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payments (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I refer to Parliamentary Question 48047-17. Following on from this PQ, application forms were sent to the person concerned by the designated person. According to the records of the Department these forms have not been returned and there has been no contact from the person concerned. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: My department received an application for carers allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 12 December 2016. The maximum rate of CA was awarded to him on 27 February 2017 and first payment issued to his nominated post office on 16 March 2017. Arrears of allowance due from to 15 December 2016 to 15 March 2017 issued on 6 April 2017. The person concerned was notified on 27 February 2017 of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: People engaging with the JobPath service receive intensive individual support to help overcome barriers on their journey back to full-time sustainable work. Each person is assigned a personal advisor who assesses their skills, experience, challenges and work goals and agrees a personal progress plan (PPP) that includes a schedule of activities, including relevant training and educational...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Clerical Officers in my Department are liable for any duties appropriate to their grade. Subject to this, and given the ongoing changes in the delivery of services by the Department, staff members at all grades may be required to undertake different work, either in their original business unit or in another business unit on reassignment.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The Business Object Model Implementation (BOMi) system is my Departments primary modern technology platform for processing claims and payments across all schemes. The BOMi system has issued payments to customers of my Department from 2013 to date. Accuracy of BOMi system calculations is achieved through the adoption of key measures that are built into every part of the system. A...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Data (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: To date 131,986 Jobseekers have been referred to the service, with 421 complaints received in total – 0.32 per cent. 305 of these were related to Customer Service, 61 involved policy issues, 40 related to client not wishing to engage, 8 Data Protection queries and 7 related to Legislation. As of 10 November, 366 of these complaints have been resolved to a satisfactory level; the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: JobPath is a payment by results model and all set-up and day-to-day operational costs are borne by the companies. The companies are paid on the basis of performance and with the exception of the initial registration fee; payments are made only when a client has achieved sustained employment. The registration fee may be claimed once a jobseeker has developed a Personal Progression Plan...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is a service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service commenced operations in mid-2015, and reached full State-wide delivery of the service in July 2016. In order to qualify for a jobseeker payment, a person must meet certain...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 18 September 2017. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Eligibility (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 598 and 599 together. The projected full-year annual savings of extending the number of “waiting days” for Illness Benefit from three to six was €22 million when the measure was introduced in 2014. I have no current plans to change the number of waiting days further. In the event that a person experiences financial difficulty during the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: State pension (contributory) entitlement is calculated by the ‘yearly average’ system, where the total number of contributions paid or credited is divided by the number of years of the person’s insurance record. The maximum rate of pension is payable where a person has a yearly average of at least 48, and there are banded entitlements below that. In calculating the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Community Employment (CE) scheme supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector. The State is not responsible for funding pension arrangements for such employees even where the companies in question are reliant on State funding. It is open to individuals to make provision for a pension by way of PRSA which all employers are obliged to facilitate. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card Data (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: In general, private companies do not have access to social protection data. Section 263 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 (as amended) sets out the legal basis for the issuance and use of the Public Services Card (PSC). Use of the PSC is restricted to public service bodies specified in law (known as specified bodies) and their agents (i.e., organisations working on their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Following a successful appeal, this lady has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 14 December 2016. The first payment will be made to her chosen payment method on 29 November 2017. Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disablement Benefit (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I thank the Senator for raising this topic, which I know is particularly important to people in his neck of the woods. Any person, including a former miner, who has suffered an occupational injury or prescribed occupational disease, is entitled to apply for disablement benefit under the occupational injuries scheme, which was introduced with effect from 1 May 1967. In order to qualify for a...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disablement Benefit (21 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: We will redouble our efforts to ensure that the outstanding and pending claims are expedited as quickly as possible. I commend Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív and other politicians at the time on the work they did in respect of this matter. These men were working in particular conditions - these were not unique and others were working in similar conditions - and we did not quite recognise the...

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The report is currently being looked at by my Department and I hope to have it published very soon.

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I genuinely hope so. It is being worked on at the moment with a view to deciding what the next steps are between my Department and the Revenue Commissioners to address the issues outlined by the Deputy. There is a section dealing with this area in my Department, known as Scope, and there will be a campaign around its activities in the new year to let people know exactly what their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Services Programme (22 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy is aware, the Community Services Programme (CSP) provides financial support to community companies that provide revenue generating services of a socially inclusive nature. The CSP works on a social-enterprise model which means that it does not fully fund contract holders but requires that they generate revenue by charging fees or raising funds. All CSP recipients are obliged...